3 Steps: Doggy Scavenger Hunt Party

18 Feb by Debbie June Rickman Laughlin

Hosting a scavenger hunt for your dog not only helps you bring out the natural instincts that your four-legged friend loves to show off, but it also helps you bond with your buddy and can even let your dog work with other pups as a team.  Hosting the hunt with your dog’s training school, doggy day care, or even neighborhood puppy pals is a great way for you to get social and for your perfect pup to have some fun.  Here are three steps: Doggy scavenger hunt party.

1.  The Invitations

What better way to get everyone excited than by making themed invitations?  If you’re holding it for the graduating class from your dog’s obedience school, you could print out fun invitations like a bone with a graduation cap, or if the hunt is for a neighborhood party you could try doing something like putting a fire hydrant on the invitation.  If it’s for your pup’s birthday, try one of the many birthday cards for pups that you can print for free online.  Make sure to include in the invitations that treats will be provided for your four-legged friends and their caretakers, or you’ll have an entire group of puppy eyes to deal with!

2.  The Hunt

This is where creativity is key.  Make sure to theme the hunt for the type of party you’re hosting.  If it is for your four-legged friend’s graduating class, use how many classes the dogs took as the number of clues you create and incorporate into the hunt the behaviors they learned in each class.  Have each person figure out where each clue leads to, and then have each pup perform the behavior so that everyone can move onto the next clue.  If the behavior they learned was crawl, you can set up a toy tunnel or have them go under a row of limbo sticks.  If you’re hosting a birthday for your dog, theme each clue around different photos and special moments you’ve shared with your buddy as he or she has grown up over the years.

If you used to use a training crate for your dog at night, you can have a clue about the crate (that is no longer needed) and lead people to where the crate used to be, with another clue waiting there for everyone to find.  If your pup had a favorite place where they used to have ‘an accident’ or hide their favorite toys, you can create a clue about that spot or the toys.  Another option if the dogs have learned to scent and hunt is for one round, have half of the people at your party try to guess where the next clue is and have the dogs sniff a scent and lead the other half of the humans to the clue.  Whichever group gets to the clue first wins that round.

3. The Prize

The part of a scavenger hunt that everyone loves is solving the last clue.  Having things that you can bond over can make amazing gifts.  You can find animal slippers of different dog breeds for affordable prices at stores like http://www.crazyforbargains.com.  You can serve doggie-designed cookies during your party and match the cookies with a doggie cookie bouquet for the adults to split.  You can make it more fun by hiding a box of dog-bone shaped cookies with the names of each dog at the party on them at the final destination and telling your guests that more fun doggie cookies with their dogs’ names are waiting inside!

Scavenger hunts for your four-legged friends help to bring out their natural talents and let you appreciate how cool they can really be.  They promote bonding and social skills with other dogs and more importantly help you to bond with your dog and friends as well.  If you’re thinking of something fun and unique to do with your best friend and his or her doggie pals, hosting a scavenger hunt is always a great option.

Written by: Adam Katzenberg

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Please share your doggy parties with us!

Thank you,

Debbie June Rickman Laughlin

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